An update on the dengue fever spreading and its situation in India

Article Type:  Editorial

Published on:  Year: 2024; Volume: 4; Issue: 3; Page No: 1 – 3

 Author:  Jayanthi Sureshbabu

https://doi.org/10.55349/ijmsnr.20244313

Affiliation:  Editor-In-Chief, International Journal of Medical Sciences and Nursing Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India and Former Lecturer in Medical Entomology, Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalapet, Pondicherry, India.

Email ID:  Editor-in-chief@ijmsnr.com

Submitted:  10-July-2024     Revised: 30-July-2024      Accepted: 20-August-2024       Published: 30-September-2024

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Introduction

Dengue is called as dengue fever.  This is the most common and important arthropod borne viral ie., arboviral illness in human beings.  It is also named as breakbone fever.  It is spread to human beings via bites of Aedes mosquitos. [1] It carrying one of four types of dengue virus (DENV).  This is mostly found in tropical and subtropical regions, and in Central and South America also. [2] Aedes mosquitoes takes about seven to eight days to develop the virus in its body and transmit the disease. [3] In this editorial article, I have discussed about dengue, various habits of Aedes mosquitoes, various places of favourite breeding, discussion about the health education/awareness about dengue and its habits among sanitary workers ad school going children.

Various habits of Aedes mosquitoes

Habit of feeding of mosquitoes

The Aedes mosquitoes are day biter, it’s main feeds on human beings in domestic and peri domestic situations ad it bites repeatedly and multi person feeder per blood meal.

Habit of resting of mosquitoes

It rests in the domestic and peridomestic situations.  It rests in the dark corners of the houses, on hanging objects like clothes, umbrella, etc. (or) under the furniture

Mosquitoes’ habits of Breeding and places

Aedes mosquito breeds in any type of man-made containers or storage containers having even a small quantity of water.  The eggs of Aedes can live without water for more than one year.

Various places of Favourite Breeding of mosquitoes

The various favourite places of breeding are as follows: Desert coolers, Drums, Jars, Pots, Buckets, Flower vases, Plant saucers, Tanks, Cisterns, Bottles, Tins, Tyres, Roof gutters, Refrigerator drip pans, Cement blocks, Cemetery urns, Bamboo stumps, Coconut shells, Tree holes and many more places where rainwater collects or is stored

Table–1 Distribution of dengue cases and deaths in various states and Union Territories of India from the year 2019 to 2024 [5, 6]

Source from:  National Center for Vector Borne Diseases

*Provisional till 30^th June 2024;  C=Cases | D=Deaths | NR=Not Reported

2023: WB reported data till 13.9.2023;  2024: WB reported data till 21.2.2024

Figure – 1 Distribution of dengue fever in states of India

In the year 2024, the number of deaths due to dengue fever was none in Pondicherry and the remaining states of status and particularly the 22 deaths were happened in Kerala was shown in Table–1.  Dengue fever has spread in various states in India as shown in Figure–1.

Jency et al [7] has mentioned by health education among sanitary workers by improving their knowledge and practices on dengue control.  Whereas, in a study was conducted by Sureshbabu et al [8] the dengue awareness had to be initiated from the school level itself.  The number of dengue cases 2,89,235 and deaths due that was 485 in the year 2023.  Whereas the number of dengue cases was 32,091 and the deaths due to that was 32 only in the year 2024 as show in Table–1.  Dengue cases resurged after the COVID-19 pandemic in worldwide. As per the record, in Americas region 4.6 million cases and 4000 deaths were happened in the year of 2023.  Whereas in the year 2024, 2 times higher dengue cases have been reported in the Americas. [9] In another one report, 11 million cases were reported in 2024. [10]

Conclusion

From this, I have concluded that the knowledge about Aedes mosquito breeding, habits and its various places of favourite breeding of mosquitoes to the community, sanitary workers and in the school going children also.  So, school-based health awareness study would be conducted by the nearby medical colleges ad to create about the awareness of Dengue virus.  This type of mosquito related knowledge to the medical college under graduates and post graduate also.  The only they will create an awareness in the early rural or urban community and to make the community free from Dengue.

References

1. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention: About Den Available from:  https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/about/index.html  [Last Accessed on: 2^nd July 2024]
2. Cleveland Clinic: Dengue Fever.  Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17753-dengue-fever [Last Accessed on: 2^nd July 2024]
3. Medscape: Drugs & Diseases – Infectious Diseases.   Available from: https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/215840-overview?form=fpf [Last Accessed on: 2^nd July 2024]
4. National Center for Vector Borne Diseases Directorate General of Health Services – Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. Available from:   https://ncvbdc.mohfw.gov.in/index4.php?lang=1&level=0&linkid=431&lid=3715 [Last Accessed on: 12^nd July 2024]
5. Sureshbabu J.  Present scenario on dengue disease in various states of India.  Int J Med Sci and Nurs Res 2023;3(4):1–3.  DOI:https://doi.org/10.55349/ijmsnr.20233413
6. Dengue situation in India.  Available from: https://ncvbdc.mohfw.gov.in/index4.php?lang=1&level=0&linkid=431&lid=3715
7. Jency P, Rishla K, Jabir MM, et al. Anti-Dengue Sanitation Practices: A Health Education Approach for Municipal Sanitary Workers in Puducherry, India. Cureus 2024;16(7): e65227. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.65227
8. Sureshau J, Vasudevan S, Raj P. A Study of the effectiveness of school health education programs o selected mosquito ore diseases:  School based Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Res Med Sci 2017;5(6):2728-2733.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20172478
9. Emergency Preparedness and Response: Increased Risk of Dengue Virus Infections I the United States. Available from:    https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2024/han00511.asp#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20more%20than%204.6,2023%20(4.6%20million%20cases) [Last Accessed on: 15^th July 2024]
10. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control: Dengue worldwide overview.  Available from:  https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/dengue-monthly  [Last Accessed on: 15^th July 2024]

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